today, post 8am play date in my neighborhood that I feel relatively safe in a man walking on the opposite side of the park started gawking at me. I could feel his eyes and so I naturally kept looking straight, hand gripped on what I felt I would need to use to protect myself, and prayed to god that he didn’t speak to me. He did. He tried from yards away. “Hello. Good morning. Mmm excuse me,good morning.”
Why? Why when I’m walking with my child. Not looking at you at 8 in the morning do men still feel invited and entitled into my space? Why demand I say something back?
But I knew what to do. Even though people in uncomfortable situations say to do opposite I went with my gut and forced my quivering body to quietly acknowledge him. Because if I didn’t it’s a tale tell story. He’d become more aggressive. More assertive. Force himself more onto me because god forbid in 2021 a women bruise your ego by ignoring you, men can still not let that slide. I felt disgusting as he tried to continue to
